The Connected Home

Centruylink is launching PRISM TV here in Minneapolis, and in some suburbs in early 2016. Once it is available in your area, we can help you get set up with it if you want. It has a standard selection of channels, and good HD content. Also, all the boxes are wireless, which can be ideal for some homes. It also give you a lot of versatility. When you bundle it with your DSL service, they usually offer decent discounts.

We went online and searched for reviews from elsewhere where Prism is already in the field. First lets look as what Century Links Says Prism offers with a short video.

Here is the scoop we got from BestCompany.com https://bestcompany.com/satellite-tv/company/prism-tv/

Prism TV TechThe DVR allows you to watch and record multiple shows at once with just one DVR. The DVR device allows you to watch the recorded shows from any room so there is no fighting over remotes. Prism Whole Home DVR has an app that creates the ability to manage your DVR library, set recordings and reminders and customize your online guide from anywhere you can access the app.Prism TV has the Find it Fast ability to help you find shows and movies. A title, an actor, or both can be entered in so that a show/movie can be found and be watched or recorded. Prism TV also has the ability to track back to the last five channels that you have watched so it is easy to switch between shows when commercials are playing.The BadConsider these negative aspects before choosing Prism TV.Only Available in 13 StatesPrism is the television department under the company Century Link which is a telecommunications company that offers services in 36 states. However, the television services are offered in just 13 states.Prism TV is available only in the following states: Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Minnesota.Costs for BundlesIt is convenient and easy to add the internet to your bundle, but it is an additional thirty dollars per month for each package. There is also an additional cost for the equipment. There is a $9.99 per month cost on the set top box and other equipment during the 12-month contract which tends to be in the small print of each package.The Bottom LinePrism TV offers a range of bundles that you can choose from. The DVR allows you to watch your recorded shows from any room that you have a device in. With convenient features recording shows away from home is easy to do.Prism TV is offered in just 11 states in specific cities so it is limited to specific locations. Go ahead and check out their website to see if your location is available for Prism TV.

The Denver Post Answered a readers plea for low budget TV Access with this quote about Prism - Note that pricing may be diffeent here in Minnesota than in Denver...

• CenturyLink’s cheapest way to get started with its Prism TV is its 140-channel Prism Essential plan, which after the $34.99 promotion rate ends in 12 months, jumps to about $50 a month.

Here is a post we found in a forum...

I know this is an old post, but we have had Prism for the past 6 months and all I can say is that it is decent, definitely cheaper than what I was paying for Directv, but you get what you pay for. We have 4 TVs and only two of the 4 can view HD content at the same time, the other two sets have to be in SD. This also applies to the DVR. You can watch 1 HD show and record another HD, but if you have more than two HD streams running, then any other recordings will be in SD. This is due to the bandwidth limitation of the dual ADSL pipeline they use to deliver the service over. The HD quality is pretty good, but not as good as Directv. We have also had intermittent audio issue with digital audio, the sound will drop out occasionally and come back and drop out, its annoying to say the least, so we run most shows in stereo audio and not digital audio to eliminate the problem until they get it resolved. Overall its an ok service, we have combined internet phoneand TVand the total bill is about $60 cheaper than we were p ing forDirectv alone. So overall it was about $150 savings when we combined everything. http://www.avsforum.com/forum/45-local-hdtv-info-reception/1495207-prism-tv.html​

Another comment in the same thread...

You need to get a Fiber optic (FO) feed if you can.

I am recording 4 shows in HD concurrently right now, watching 2 HD recorded shows on 2 STBs and simultaneously downloading at 40 MBps or uploading at 5 MBps (www;speedtest.net). There are no dropouts at all. I am in The Villages Florida, where CL is putting in FO and converting customers from Comcast and DirecTVby the droves. They run FO right into the house to their FO Modem(Calix 716GE-I ONT). That feeds a Technicolor C2000T Gateway hardwired (RJ-45 cable) to the Pace IPH8005 DVR which connects to 1 TVand is the central video storage on a 500 GB HDD. The other 2 TVs are connected via a wireless Cisco ISB7005STB. A dedicated Cisco VEN401-NA wireless router, hard wired to the gateway, feeds the remote STBs, Wireless to laptops, etc is handled by a WiFi builtinto the gateway.

This system works like a champ if you have a FO feed.

The above seems a bit technical ... hunh.. Don't worry if you decide on Prism via us, we will help you with the techie stuff. But here is another comment....

We had DTV. We were dissatisfied with DTV, and were ripe when a Prism salesman came to our door and made us a good trial offer. We went for it. The Prism service was okay, but not as user-friendly as DTV. A DTV salesman called and made us an offer we could not refuse to return. The offer turned out (surprise, surprise) to be not what what was offered. We are now waiting for our commitment to expire. We will go (back) to Dish or go broadcast.So...it all depends on what deal you can get. DTV was our choice if DTV and Prism are the only two choices.

Seems to be difficult to satisfy everybody, that's why we at The Connected Home work with our clients to help them understand the pluses and minuses of each package and provider. It is often a mistake to make the low cost option the key consideration. Yes price is important, but what so is getting the type of service you need for the way you use your TV Access and the services you want to bundle with it.

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